Bonnskij Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 George. I feel the exact same way about the things I make, and it is for that reason I've made my touch mark as well. We only really die when we are forgotten. And thank you both for your encouraging words. It wasn't really a job that made me happy, especially the way things were going. It started as a good job, but one colleague took off to Indonesia to be with his family when the pandemic broke out and has been stuck there since, another got a better job. All the while we got a whole new building for the institute and no additional replacement staff, leaving my manager, me and occasionally casual support staff to pick up all the slack. Only contracts and no job security. Higher education as a whole seems to be suffering in Australia. Full commercialisation and market capitalism is no way to run a university. But I'm rambling. I had no plans to stay indefinitely, but was working on getting the right experience to be able to leave on my own terms. With any luck, my family and I will also be able to change our geographic location to somewhere we are happier as well. Time will tell what is in store for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 Found these two huge leaf springs and saw blade for fifty dollarbucks. The leaf spring must be over 40 kilos each. Not running out of spring steel any time soon. Any idea what steel the saw blade is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Brouwers Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Bjorn, this isn't necessarily a sharp thing, and it isn't an answer to your question about the saw blade. It is more a question to anyone who sees it, but have you thought about making one of those leaf springs into a flat pry bar/crow bar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Bullet Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 It looks like that may have been a carbide tipped blade. I found this: https://www.harrissawing.com/circular-saw-manufacturing-process/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted October 23, 2021 Author Share Posted October 23, 2021 Will, I have gone past my initial goals for blacksmithing, and probably make more blunt than sharp things these days, so i'll certainly keep a pry bar in mind as a project. On 10/22/2021 at 11:17 PM, Purple Bullet said: It looks like that may have been a carbide tipped blade. Well that is certainly encouraging. Seems to be likely to be a mid-high carbon steel. Perfect thickness for both wood carving and kitchen knives too, so that's a good start. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 If it has applied carbide teeth it's likely to be medium carbon than if the blade is all one metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 Correct, like concrete diamond blades the core needs to be tough, not hard. Saws that are all one piece are good steel through and through. BTW, concrete saws here use a 4140 core, at least that is what all of the manufacturers that replied to my inquiry said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted October 28, 2021 Author Share Posted October 28, 2021 Fair enough. Maybe I can use it in some laminate instead then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 8, 2021 Author Share Posted November 8, 2021 First markets done, and it's been a great although exhausting experience. Not many blacksmiths around here, and a lot of people were head over heals about the things I had on offer. According to the regular stall holders it was very dead compared to how it normally is, but I sold a few things and made a few hundred dollars. I unexpectedly sold my talking / centrepiece. My bike chain damascus axe, so now I'm going to need a new people magnet. For the next market I hope my son understands that sitting under the table yelling "are ya gonna buy something??" is probably not appropriate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 I think these ones turned out kinda cool: Sløyd with o1 core and mild steel jacket. Coffee etched. Leaf spring chopper with Tasmanian blackwood and Huon pine handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Brouwers Posted November 19, 2021 Share Posted November 19, 2021 Those look great! And good job selling your centerpiece! Kind fun when something unexpected like that happens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 22, 2021 Author Share Posted November 22, 2021 Thanks! Yep. I brought it along just as a conversation starter piece last minute really. I didn't expect to actually sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Bonnskij, if you don't mind my asking, how much did your axe sell for? You need to train your son to look sad and wistful and ask in a shaky voice, "Mister, are you going to buy something so that we can have Christmas this year?" Slightly raggedy clothes or a crutch might help. Then, you can say, "Now, now, Tiny Tim, don't bother the nice man." "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 22, 2021 Author Share Posted November 22, 2021 I don't mind. I wasn't sure what to price it at, but eventually priced and sold it for 180 dollaridoos. Haha! I think my son could pull that off pretty well, though my daughter probably even better. I'll show them / read them A christmas carol a couple of times to illustrate what we need to aim for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted November 22, 2021 Share Posted November 22, 2021 Little girls can probably get more sympathy than boys, particularly from adult men who remember what little thugs and hooligans boys can be because they were them once. Guys will do about anything to get a sad girl to smile. If you work it right customers will be saying, "Just shut up and take my money!" For pricing, consider how much time you have into an item and what a fair price for your time is and then arrive at a retail price point. If you had 200 hours in that axe and sold it for $AU180 you are saying your time is worth less than $AU1/hour. That is not a good return on time. Time is the only thing each of us has a finite amount. In the end we are selling our skill and time. You don't want to price yourself out of the market but you want to be fairly compensated for what you have in an item. Watch Black Bear Forge's videos on how to price your work on YT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 22, 2021 Author Share Posted November 22, 2021 My little curly haired three year old can melt any heart I'm sure (: Black bear forge is my favourite youtube smith, so that sounds like a good plan to watch. No idea how much time I spent on the axe. It was more for funsies and as a proof of concept. I made it for an instructables competition and it won me enough money to buy a welder. I'm always debating whether I should price my time exactly as it is, or if I should take into account that I have quite rudimentary equipment and therefore will work slower than someone with say a power hammer, and not try to make the customers pay for my lack of equipment. Even so, I hope I've priced most of my things fairly. My axes, probably not. They took me quite some time. The second axe with the copper inlay took longer han the chain damascus, and if it sells for less than AU$280 I'd rather not sell it at all. Things like hooks i can make fairly quick (or so Iike to think) now. I made the three below last night in 40 minutes, and though I'm not sure of the price to put on them, I think I could put a price that would equal a fair wage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 27, 2021 Author Share Posted November 27, 2021 I finished this little knife the other day and had planned to make a neat wooden scabbard for it and offer it up as my top end type of carving knife on the next market. I ended up getting sick for a few days though and never got time for it. Market day came around today and it sold within five minutes anyway. My type c axe with copper inlay went to a lady who fell in love with it completely and couldn't get it out of her head. My Viking age curved knives are gone. The last one went to a teenager with her mum. Super enthusiastic and clearly just loved it. I was all out of small change by that point, so knocked ten dollars of the price so she could buy it. I have almost no hooks left and just one remaining set of bbq tools. The cleaver would have sold a couple of times, but the blokes that wanted it got shot down by their wives. Ah well. Such is life Really gotta ramp it up for the last haul before Christmas now me thinks. Hoping the steel place gets more 6mm round bar soon. The j-hooks all sold like hotcakes. And I'm all out of axes... Nothing has gone at all like I expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 To quote a friend, that’s a high-class problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 Pffft! You have first world problems......hahahahaha! There is a whole thread on here as well that covers pricing from industrial items to art related. There is no one set way to do it correctly, as each has its own quirks. If the steel place can't get the material in, locate some scrap , and use that as a selling point - upcycling!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 Fun story about my current paying project: once I’d figured out what I should charge, I quoted the customer about 10% more, so that I could offer a discount without cutting into my bottom line. He went for it instantly, which leads me to think I should have asked for more in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 That's a sure sign you underbid the job John. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 Live and learn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 As long as you can laugh about it, life is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 It sure is a bit of a first world problem I do a bit of upcycling, but hard to find scraps at the right size for the hooks. Having the round bar it was easy to churn out a lot of them after making a jig. I got a few half finished big knives, so i'll see if I can finish those before the next market. I have two weeks as it stands. This has certainly been a learning experience for me, and a lot of fun. And most importantly I've managed to connect with another couple of blacksmiths in the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnskij Posted December 16, 2021 Author Share Posted December 16, 2021 Found round bar eventually, so now i have heaps of hooks. Working on another axe too. Here it is so far: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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